Muslim-Led Schools Say Sept. 11 Affected Charter Decision

A lawyer for a Muslim-led group of charter schools based in Fresno,
Calif., is calling a decision to revoke the school's charter a reaction
to the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, and is seeking a court injunction
that would allow the schools to continue receiving public funds.

Sept. 11 "was definitely influential in their decision," said Akil
K. Secret, an Atlanta-based lawyer who is representing the Gateway
Academy. "I think the decision was clearly politically motivated."

But officials from the Fresno Unified School District said problems
at the K-12 school—which had expanded to satellite campuses
throughout the state without the district's knowledge— started
long before the terrorist attacks against the World Trade Center and
the Pentagon.

Information compiled by the district, which cut off all funding to
the schools on Jan. 16, outlined numerous financial, educational, and
safety violations.

According to a letter from Fresno Superintendent Santiago V. Wood to
state Superintendent Delaine Eastin, none of the sites had clearance
from fire marshals to operate, more than half of Gateway's 162
employees were working without criminal-background checks, and two of
them were convicted felons.

Gateway Visit

A visit to a Gateway site by a district representative in October
also revealed exposed wiring, holes in floors, and a window covered
with cardboard.

"It's not like Gateway didn't know this was coming," said Jill
Marmolejo, a spokeswoman for the district.

She added that a preliminary audit of the school's finances showed a
deficit of nearly $1 million on Sept. 6, and that officials at the
school repeatedly missed deadlines for submitting documents to the
district.

While district officials also heard reports that the Koran was being
taught at one of the campuses in Silicon Valley, Ms. Marmolejo said
they did not personally witness the teaching of religion, which is
prohibited at charter schools.

In fact, she said, officials were initially impressed by what they
saw in the classroom.

Without public funds, Gateway, which serves more than 600 students,
is operating as a "private, voluntary school," the spokeswoman said,
and added that while the school can become independent, she doubts that
many of the parents could afford to pay tuition.

While some students from Gateway have transferred back into the
Fresno schools since the board's decision, Mr. Secret said there had
not been a large exodus from the school.

Rapid Expansion

Gateway Academy was founded in 2000 by residents of Baladullah, a
small, predominantly Muslim village located in the foothills of the
Sierra Nevada mountains and within the Fresno school district.

The school quickly began opening additional satellite campuses,
including one in Pomona in Los Angeles County and one in Oakland. At
one point, the school had a total of 14 campuses, but currently has 11,
four of which are in Fresno County.

Mr. Secret said that he believes the board's decision was premature,
and that district officials did not give the relatively new school a
chance to correct the problems or to have an independent audit
conducted.

The district's deadline for the audit was Jan. 4, after it granted
the charter school an extension.

"Their action is not consistent with actions taken by other boards"
in disputes with charter schools, he said. "There was no auditing firm
that was willing or capable of producing an audit before January
4."

But Gary Larson, a spokesman for the San Carlos-based California
Network of Educational Charters, a membership organization, said the
group was "satisfied with the level of oversight and the patience" with
which Fresno handled the situation.

He added that while charter school advocates do not want additional
restrictions placed on their schools, the organization is pondering
legislation that would keep charter schools from opening campuses
without first notifying the district that granted their charters.

"It is essential for all schools to notify their authorizing
district, but it's obviously clear that Gateway wasn't doing that," Mr.
Larson said.

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